The Western

The Western

1. Iconography

   • Vehicles, such as covered wagons and steam locomotives
     • horses and horse riding
       • Native American tribes- noble warriors
         • vast desert locations
           • small towns of wooden buildings
             • wide brimmed hats, side-holsters, cowboy boots and spurs
               • Cattle
                 • 19th century technology

2. Westerns, in general are set in the US in the mid to late 19th century.

3. Setting

   • Calvary westerns- focus on a military base in the west.
     • Journey or quest-oriented westerns (stagecoach 1939) -wider expanse.
       • Some westerns might be unmoored completely from the 19th century. the shootiest (1976) is set in 1901 and uses a later time period.

4. Narrative

   • In westerns focused on lawmen, a heroic sheriff or similar will help rid a small town or community of lawlessness.
     • In outlaw westerns- the narrative may follow a character who acts in opposition to law and order.
       • In cavalry or military westerns- explores the conflict between native Americans and later settlers.
         • some focus on the act of settling the west itself and may follow settlers as they journey across Eastern US to the west.
           • In ranch westerns- The big country (1958) the action may resolve around a single rancher and their effort to maintain their land and livelihood.

5. Style

   • Westerns use film language to emphasise both setting and theme. Location filming in places of vast scenic beauty.
     • The genre has been used to showcase technical innovations.
       • Widescreen formats such as Vista-Vision and cinemascope. film makers use these wider frames to convey more of west's spectacular landscapes.
         • To empahises tension directors often convey showdowns using close-up of actors and editing tempos which take us from hero to villain and back again. (Italian director Sergio Leone.
           • Music- proves so crucial to the action in Leones films that elements of the music itself are given a diegetic source within the story.

6. Characters

   • outlaws and gunslingers
     • Sheriffs and lawmen bound by duty and personal codes of honour
       • Saloon girls
         • captions of industry
           • Native American warriors
             • cavalry soldiers
               • Farmers and ranchers

7. Themes

   • is violence and loss of life an acceptable price to pay for law and order
     • Can violent men be apart of wider civilisation
       • should the land be protected from exploltation
         • what is the price of progress
           • Is it right for displaced and threatened people to use violence to protect themselves

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